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New Kings Heath and Moseley radio station planned

A new radio station for Kings Heath and Moseley could be on air ‘within months' according to the backers of the project.

Community broadcasting veteran Peni Whelan, who lives locally, is one of the people behind the venture, along with former social worker Nick Shough.

They have organised a meeting at Bishop Challenor Sports Centre to set up a committee of volunteers to get the whole thing going. Well-know local broadcasters Janice Long and Adrian Goldberg have both offered their support.

"This is very much about giving an on-air voice to the community," says Nick Shough. "It would be run mostly by volunteers and provide training in a lot of key skills for young people."

He says the station - yet to be given a name - would seek to engage with an older audience during the day and would probably have evening programmes for young people. "It would not just be music, we are looking at things like local drama and storytime slots for toddlers too," he says.

The Government grants licences for community radio stations to broadcast for a month at a time, twice a year. If all goes according to plan the new station hopes to be on air in time for the Kings Heath Carnival in July. It could then continue broadcasting on the internet, but hopes to apply for a permanent FM frequency as soon as one becomes available.

Peni and Nick hope to raise around £10,000 from various grants to cover the set up costs. The long-term operation would be paid for mostly from community funding, public money and training grants, along with support from local businesses they hope.

"We are never going to be able to compete with the likes of BRMB in audience, but we could take away from the BBC by offering a different type of local programming," says Nick.

The reception area being planned is for a wide area of south-west Birmingham, but the initial focus will be on Kings Heath and Moseley. They say links have already been set up with the Den youth centre in Brandwood, the Maypole Centre and Swanshurst and Bishop Challenor Schools. Local MPs Lynne Jones, Steve McCabe and Richard Burden have all backed the new station.

The first meeting to discuss the setting up of the community radio station is on Thursday 31st January, at Bishop Challenor Sports Centre, Institute Rd, Kings Heath at 7pm (refreshments available)

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